Northern Alliance

The Northern Alliance was a coalition of Afghan militia groups formed in September 1996 in opposition to the extremist Taliban regime during the Afghan Civil War. The military front was assembled by loyalists from the old Burhanuddin Rabbani government prior to the 1996 Taliban takeover, and Soviet-Afghan War hero Ahmad Shah Massoud led the Northern Alliance's forces in opposition to the Taliban. By 2000, most of the fighters were the minority Tajiks like Rabbani and Massoud, but Uzbeks like Abdul Rashid Dostum, Hazaras like Mohammad Mohaqiq, and moderate Pashtuns like Hamid Karzai became leaders of the Northern Alliance. In October 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban and destroy the al-Qaeda terrorist training camps in the country, and they sent Green Berets to link up with the Northern Alliance and assist them in bringing down the Taliban. By December, they had succeeded in this task, although key leaders Massoud and Abdul Haq were assassinated by the Taliban before they could see a free Afghanistan. Karzai was elected the new President of Afghanistan, and the Northern Alliance warlords became the new leaders of the country.